Communication

While the communication field rarely addressed trans lives or experiences during the 20th century, trans studies began to emerge as a scholarly topic area during the first two decades of the 21st century. Research in various subdisciplines has addressed many nuanced aspects of trans experience with respect to verbal and nonverbal communication practices.

In its broadest sense, communication is the continual, interactive exchange of symbolic meanings. Words, gestures, and facial expressions are obvious symbols, but most human action can be symbolic in that others are influenced by it and provide various forms of feedback in response, both consciously and unconsciously. The topic of communication is quite broad, given that communication takes place within virtually all aspects of life. This means that scholars in most academic fields are studying communication to some degree. Theory specific to the communication discipline, however, has been developed and expanded since the early 20th century. This entry addresses the trans-related academic work of communication scholars in communication journals and texts, although it should be noted that the general topic of communication is sufficiently broad to allow for similar work to be done within other academic fields as well. Beginning with an outline of the study of human communication generally, the entry continues with a detailed description and explanation of the ways in which communications scholarship and its various subdisciplines are exploring the foundations of gender identity and societal expectations regarding expression of gender. Next, the entry presents an extended discussion that focuses on an array of issues relating to trans lives and experiences.